This article is concerned with what knowledge that can be gained from research on
creativity in psychology, social psychology and organizational theory on the one hand
and how research policies are conducted on the other. The thesis brought forward is
that research on creative personalities and how organizations promoting creativity
function does not inform Swedish policy makers responsible for the higher education
sector. There are few traces of the insights provided by such research in the presently
conducted research policies. In the article, insights from creativity research are
presented and discussed, focusing on the how organizations that generate creativity
in research tend to be constructed. For example, in order to be able to mobilize the
mental energy and concentration needed to produce creative, that is both new and
relevant, ideas and solutions inner motivation as opposed to concerns about external
assessments is highly crucial. All studies on creativity confirm that. To create the best
possible preconditions for such inner motivation to guide researchers, the phase
when ideas are worked out is the most sensitive one to safeguard from outside expectations.
However, presently we have an organization for research funding based
on competition between ideas, ideas that are then scrutinized and assessed at a
quite early stage. Another precondition for creative thinking is a climate of risk-taking
and non-conformity. The conformity produced by the present funding system where
peers are acting as gatekeepers is becoming a problem to many researchers who
manoever in a strategic rather than inner-directed manner in order to receive funding.